This invention relates to video compression, and more particularly to error recovery from errors in synchronization fields.
Video is a key part of a rich multimedia experience. Personal computers (PC""s) and various other computing devices have delivered video feeds to users over the Internet. However, processing of video bitstreams or feeds is among the most data-intensive of all common computing applications. Limited communication-line bandwidth has reduced the quality of Internet video, which is often delivered in small on-screen windows with jerky movement.
To mitigate the problems of large video streams, various video-compression techniques have been deployed. Compression standards, such as those developed by the motion-picture-experts group (MPEG), have been widely adopted. These compression techniques are lossy techniques, since some of the picture information is discarded to increase the compression ratio. However, compression ratios of 99% or more have been achieved with minimal noticeable picture degradation.
Portable hand-held devices such as personal-digital-assistants and cellular telephones are widely seen today. Wireless services allow these devices to access data networks and even view portions of web pages. Currently the limited bandwidth of these wireless networks limits the web viewing experience to mostly text-based portions of web pages. However, future wireless networks are being planned that should have much higher data transmission rates, allowing graphics and even video to be transmitted to portable computing and communication devices.
Although proponents of these next-generation wireless networks believe that bandwidths will be high enough for high-quality video streams, the inventors realize that the actual data rates delivered by wireless networks can be significantly lower than theoretical maximum rates, and can vary with conditions and local interference. Due to its high data requirements, video is likely to be the most sensitive service to any reduced data rates. Interference can cause intermittent dropped data over the wireless networks.
Next-generation compression standards have been developed for transmitting video over such wireless networks. The MPEG-4 standard provides a more robust compression technique for transmission over wireless networks. Recovery can occur when parts of the MPEG-4 bitstream is corrupted.
FIG. 1 shows a MPEG-4 bitstream that is composed of video object planes and video packets. The video is sent as a series of picture frames known as video object planes (VOP). These picture frames are replaced at a fixed rate, such as every 30 milliseconds to give the illusion of picture movement. Rather than transmit every pixel on each line, the picture is divided into macroblocks and compressed by searching for similar macroblocks in earlier or later frames and then replacing the macroblock with a motion vector or data changes.
Video object planes VOP 10, 12 are two frames in a sequence of many frames that form a video stream. Pixel data in these planes are compressed using macroblock-compression techniques that are well-known and defined by the MPEG-4 standard. The compressed picture data is divided into several video packets (VP) for each video object plane VOP.
Each video object plane begins with a VOP start code, such as VOP start code 20 which begins VOP #1 (10), an VOP start code 21, which begins VOP #2 (12). First video object plane VOP 10 has VOP header 22 that follows VOP start code 20, and data field 24 which contains the beginning of the picture data for VOP 10. After a predetermined amount of data, such as 100 to 1000 bits, a new video packet begins with resync marker 30 and VP header 32. Data field 34 continues with the picture data for VOP 10. Other video packets follow, each beginning with a resync marker and VP header, followed by a data field with more of the picture data for VOP 10. The last video packet VP #N in VOP 10 begins with resync marker 31 and VP header 33, and is followed by the final picture data for VOP 10, in data field 35.
The second video object plane VOP 12 begins with VOP start code 21 and VOP header 23, and is followed by data field 25, which has the first picture data for the second picture frame, VOP 12. Other video packets follow for VOP 12.
The VOP headers include a VOP coding type (I, P, or B), VOP time, rounding type, quantization scale, f-code, while the VP headers include a macroblock number for the first macroblock in the packet, quantization scale, VOP coding type and time. The headers can include other information as well.
The VOP start codes and VP resync markers contain unique bit patterns that do not occur in the headers or data fields. FIG. 2A shows a video object plane VOP start code. This code is defined by the MPEG-4 standard. The start code is 000001 B6 in Hexadecimal notation. The start code begins with a string of 23 zero bits. The picture data in the data fields are encoded so that they never have such a long string or run of zero bits. Likewise, the headers do not have such a long run of zero bits. Thus the start code is unique within the video bitstream, allowing a bitstream decoder to easily detect the start code.
FIG. 2B is a table of codes for the resync markers that marks the beginning of a new video packet. The f-code specifies the motion vector search range and the number of bits that can be used to encode the motion vector. For f-code=1, the maximum search range is +/xe2x88x9216 pixels, with a half-pixel resolution.
All resync markers begin with a long run of zero bits, from 16 to 22 bits of zero. Note that the VOP start code has a longer run of 23 zero bits, allowing the VOP start code to be distinguished from the VP resync markers.
A simplification of the MPEG-4 standard sets the f-code to 1 for all video packets. This simplification is known as simple profile level 0. In this case the resync markers are:
0000 0000 0000 0000 1 
which has an initial run of 16 zeros.
FIG. 3 is a diagram of an MPEG-4 decoder. The MPEG-4 bitstream is parsed by parser 50, which searched for start-code and resync bit patterns. A bit-wise comparator can be used, comparing the last Q bits received to a Q-bit pattern of the start code or resync marker. When the last Q bits match the VOP start code, start-code decoder 56 instructs bitstream decoder 52 to decode the following bits as the VOP header, followed by the data field of the initial video packet. The picture data from the data field is output as the video data for further processing of motion vectors and macroblocks (de-compression).
When the last Q bits received by parser 50 match a resync bit pattern, resync marker decoder 58 instructs bitstream decoder 52 to decode the following bits as the VP header, followed by the data field for the video packet. The picture data from the data field is output as the video data for further processing of motion vectors and macroblocks.
When the bit pattern is neither a start code, nor a resync marker or their headers, macroblock decoder 55 decodes the data fields into the macroblock descriptions, motion vectors, and discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of the picture data.
Errors can be detected when an invalid motion vector or discrete cosine transform (DCT) code is found. However, there is no standard error-detection method. When an error is detected by bitstream decoder 52 parser 50 is instructed to search for the next VOP start-code or VP resync marker. Any data in the bitstream is ignored once the error occurs until the next start code or resync marker is found. When start-code decoder 56 finds a start code in the bitstream, decoding can continue with the next VOP header. The data following the VOP header is processed, but any video data after the error until the VOP header is discarded since the location of the macroblocks and motion vectors in the bitstream are uncertain due to loss of sync from the error. Backward decoding may be used to recover some of the lost video data when reversible variable-length coding is used.
When resync marker decoder 58 finds a resync marker in the bitstream, decoding can continue with the next VP header. The data following the VP header is processed, but any video data after the error until the VP header is discarded due to the loss sync caused by the error. If reversible variable-length coding is used, some of the lost video data may be recovered by backward decoding.
When an error occurs, the remaining data in the video packet is lost. However, data in the next video packet can be used since the bitstream is re-synced by detection of the unique bit pattern, either the start code or resync marker.
FIG. 4A shows recovery from bit errors in a video packet. When the bitstream is transmitted over a wireless network, some corruption of the data is possible. In this example, a data error occurs in data field 24 in the first video packet of VOP #1. The remaining data in data field 24 is discarded, but the decoder searches for and finds the next resync marker 30. VP header 32 following resync marker 30 is decoded, and data processing resumes with data field 34 in the second video packet. Thus the only data lost is some of the data in data field 24.
Another bit error occurs in data field 35 in the last video packet of the first frame, VOP #1. The remaining data in data field 35 is lost. However, start code 21 is detected for the second frame, VOP #2. Second VOP header 23 is decoded, and data processing resumes with the data in data field 25.
Dividing data from each video object plane into several video packets reduces the amount of lost data when a bitstream error occurs. Data from just one video packet is lost for each error. Only a portion of a frame is lost, such as less than 1/Nth of a frame when the video object plane is divided into N video packets.
Unfortunately, some kinds of bit errors are more difficult to recover from. FIG. 4B shows recovery from bit errors that extend into start codes and resync markers. A bit error in data field 35 extends into VOP start code 21, causing corruption of both data and the next start code. Since the bit error corrupts bits in the VOP start code, the decoder is unable to match the bitstream in VOP start code 21 with the proper start code sequence. Thus the start of the video object plane is not found. VOP header 23 cannot be decoded, and data in data field 25 is discarded since the exact start of this field is not known.
The decoder finally is able to match resync marker 36 for the second video packet in VOP #2 to the expected bit pattern for the resync marker. VP header 37 is decoded, and picture data from data field 39 is processed. Data from data field 25 is lost, along with some of the data from data field 35. Thus all data from the first video packet is lost, as well as some of the data from the last packet of VOP #1. Parts of two video packets are thus lost when an error occurs in a start code or resync marker.
What is desired is a bitstream decoder that locates start codes and resync markers of video packets despite bit errors that occur in these start codes and resync markers. A robust sync detector is desired that can more quickly recover from bitstream errors is desirable. A MPEG-4 decoder that can recover from a corrupted bitstream within one video packet is desirable to minimize loss of picture data.